The best free events and festivals in NYC

The 47th annual Museum Mile Festival is back this June with a slew of art-making activities, exhibitions and musical performances for all ages. It's NYC's biggest block party, running along Fifth Avenue from 82nd Street and 110th Street on Tuesday, June 10 from 6-9pm. New Yorkers can visit several of New York City’s finest cultural institutions, all of which are free and open to the public throughout the evening.  Here's the list of participating museums and highlighted activities: The Metropolitan Museum of Art offers a chance to peek at its current exhibitions, including the newly opened P.S. Art: Celebrating the Creative Spirit of New York City Kids. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum will host outdoor activities on Fifth Avenue, including artmaking, leaf rubbings, street tree identification, and sidewalk water painting. That's all tied to its current exhibition, Rashid Johnson: A Poem for Deep Thinkers, which you can go inside and see, too.  Neue Galerie New York will open its doors from 6–9pm with access to its galleries, including the famed Austrian Masterworks from the Neue Galerie.  Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum invites visitors to explore its current exhibition, Making Home—Smithsonian Design Triennial. The exhibition features 25 commissions that illustrate the ways design is embedded in contemporary life. The Jewish Museum presents the exhibitions, Ben Shahn, On Nonconformity and The Book of Esther in the Age of Rembrandt. Outside on Fifth Avenue, Frank...

Shop 'til you drop at FAD Market, a curated fashion, art and design pop-up marketplace, which is back for 2025. Expect to see your favorite makers plus brand new creatives to help you live smarter, gift better and support local businesses.  FAD—which stands for Fashion, Art and Design—takes over different venues with a horde of independent vendors and creators. Admission is free and dogs are welcome! Peruse handmade jewelry, apparel, skincare products, tableware, artisanal packaged food, and more. Whether you're shopping for you or a friend (or even getting an early on that holiday shopping), there are plenty of local gems to pick up.  Here's the upcoming FAD Market schedule for 2025 May 10-11: Mother's Day Pop-up at Empire Stores in Dumbo May 17-18: NYCxDESIGN at St. Paul in Cobble Hill May 31-June 1: Brooklyn Brewery Pop-up at Brooklyn Brewery in Williamsburg June 8: Open Streets on Montague at Montague Street June 14-15: Summer Market at Empire Stores in Dumbo June 21-22: Governors Island market July 12-13: Summer Market at Empire Stores in Dumbo July 19-20: Governors Island market July 26-27: Summer Market in Cobble Hill August 9-10: Summer Market at Empire Stores in Dumbo August 16-17: Governors Island market

It’s hard to get good food on the cheap, but for ten years, Queens Night Market has prided itself on offering the city’s best eats for just $5-6. Ranked one of the best food festivals in the U.S., the foodie festival runs on Saturday nights through the summer at the New York Hall of Science in Flushing Meadows Corona Park.  There will also be other items sale besides food, including vintage apparel, handmade jewelry, ceramic products, locally produced art pieces, crochet toys, stationery, and much more. In its existence, the market has attracted over three million visitors, helped launch 450 new businesses in New York and represented more than 95 countries through its vendors and their food. In 2022, the event averaged over 15,000 attendees each Saturday night. 

Don’t bother with Orlando. Coney Island is its very own magical kingdom, setting off free, sensational fireworks every Friday night all summer long. Grab a frank and get yourself a comfortable spot on the boardwalk to celebrate the end of the work-week every week. Friday Night Fireworks run from Friday, June 20 through Labor Day. Fireworks begin at approximately 9:45pm and typically launch from the beach at West 12th Street, providing a breathtaking backdrop to the iconic boardwalk and amusement parks.

Times Square will be both busier than ever and calmer than ever on Friday, June 20—the summer solstice—for the annual "Solstice in Times Square: Mind over Madness Yoga" event. Thousands of yoga practitioners will congregate from sunrise to sunset to take part in free yoga sessions throughout the day. This year, the event runs from 7:30am to 8:30pm at the intersection of Broadway and 7th Avenue between 43rd and 48th Streets. Over the past 23 years, this event has grown to welcome thousands of yogis taking multiple classes throughout the day and filling one of the busiest intersections in the world with peace and calm. Seven classes are available throughout the day; make a reservation for the in-person classes here. If you can't make it in person, you can livestream the class at TSQ.org/Solstice, on YouTube, or on the Times Square Facebook page.

Hundreds of food and craft vendors and multiple stages close down a busy Brooklyn artery for Atlantic Antic each fall. Spanning 10 blocks and cutting through four neighborhoods, it's billed as Brooklyn's largest street fair, so there’s more to see than stands hawking pashminas and MozzArepas. The eclectic musical lineup brings together diverse local talent and you can graze on grub from a delicious variety of artisanal vendors—washed down with some fab locally brewed ale, of course. The annual affair, hosted by the Atlantic Avenue Local Development Corporation, has been happening since 1974. Activities run along Atlantic Avenue from Fourth to the Waterfront. This year, it's on Sunday, October 5 from 12-6pm, rain or shine. The 1.5-mile festival stretches through Boerum Hill, Cobble Hill, Brooklyn Heights, and Downtown Brooklyn.